The case involves Facebook messages that London Police want to use as evidence in a murder investigation and trial. They've filed a production order to Facebook Canada asking for the data.
But the social media giant says it doesn't have to abide by Canadian production orders because it's an American company that stores its data in the United States.

Instead, it wants Canadian authorities to go through the so-called Mutual Legal Assistance Treaty (MLAT) process, usually used for physical evidence, which requires Canadian authorities to request that American authorities ask the FBI to compel Facebook to give up the data. The American part of that process takes at least 10 months.

"This case is of huge precedential importance both for police and for tech companies like Facebook." ​

Criminal investigation versus private data
With more of our lives spent online, police want to access digital data the way they would physical evidence. But tech companies are fighting back.
For now, the London, Ont., homicide case is on hold as lawyers argue about the virtual evidence.